128 



areas are not available. An analysis by the 

 Federal Water Quality Administration 

 (FWQA) of polluted sjjoils from Lake Erie 

 indicates that a total of 82,091 tons of si^oils 

 created 10,500 tons of chemical oxygen de- 

 mand (COD). (23) These large quantities of 

 oxygen-demanding materials can reduce the 

 oxygen in the receiving waters to levels at 

 which certain fish and other aquatic popula- 

 tions cannot survive. Also present were toxic 

 heavy metals. Even with substantial dilution, 

 the levels of heavy metals in the six)ils may 

 deleteriously affect marine life, as shown in 

 Table 4. 



-Heavy Metals Concentrations in Dredge 

 Spoils {23, 36) 



Industrial Wastes 



Industrial wastes were the second largest 

 category of pollutants dumped at sea in 1968 

 (4.7 million tons, or 10 percent of the total). 

 (66) 



Most industrial wastes are commonly 

 transported to sea in 1,000- to 5,000-ton-ca- 

 pacity barges. Sites are 4 to 125 miles off the 

 Atlantic Coast, from 25 to 125 miles off the 

 coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and from 5 to 75 

 miles off the Pacific Coast. Most of the sites 

 are at the nearshore end of the range. 



Highly toxic industrial wastes are some- 

 times contained in 55-gallon drums and are 

 jettisoned from either merchant ships or dis- 

 posal vessels at least 300 miles from shore. 

 The containers are sometimes weighted and 



sunk. More frequently, they are ruptured at 

 the surface, either manually with axes or by 

 small arms or rifle fire. (66) 



The breakdown for disposal methods by 

 geographic area is shown below. 



Table 5. — Industrial Wastes 'by Method of 

 Disposal (66) 



Table 6 shows the relative quantities of 

 major industrial wastes found in a survey of 

 50 producers in 20 cities. 



Table 6. — Industrial Wastes hy Manufacturing 

 Process (66) 



The types of contaminants in industrial 

 wastes dumped at sea vary greatly because of 

 the diversity of industries and, production 

 processes involved. Many of the wastes are 

 toxic — some highly toxic. For example, re- 

 finery wastes, which are 12 percent of the 

 total ocean-disposed industrial wastes, can in- 

 clude cyanides, heavy metals, mercaptides, 

 and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Pulp and 

 paper mill wastes may contain ''black liquor" 

 and A-arious organic constituents which are 

 toxic to the marine environment. Chemical 

 manufacturing and laboratory wastes that 

 are dumped include arsenical and mercuric 

 compounds and other toxic chemicals. (66) 



